Patterns for the manufacture of garments



July 2, 1963 A. wlGHTwlcK 3,095,649

PATTERNS Foa THE MANUFACTURE oF GARMENTS Filed April 17, 1959 Invencor` AUDREY wTcHTwTcK by O Zww( "ta Attorney United ,i States Patent() PATTERNS FOR THE MANUFACTURE F GARMENTS Audrey Wightwick, 23 Jameson Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, England Filed Apr. 17, 1959, ser. No. 307,051 Claims priority, application Great Britain Apr. 17, 1958 4 8 Claims. (Cl. 33-12) v This invention relates to patterns for the manufacture of garments. AThe paper pattern as at present used has retained substantially the same form for very many years, but has various disadvantagesassociated with its use. Existing paper dressmaking patterns are of more than one type: one, which is printed on thin paper of a semitransparent'nature, generally consists of white paper with a design printed on the obverse -in black ink, its design comprising Ithe `outline or cutting line of thel portion of the garment which it is desired to cut out, and a seam line running around the periphery on the inside of the outline and parallel therewith. On the cutting line there are one or more indicia lsuch as notches or lozenges which for-rn datumV points'which must be kept in register with corresponding points on theY material from which the garment is to be made,and Ealthough small variations from the cutting lineand the seam line may be made to ensure proper fit of the :garmentto Ithe wearer, it is intended that these datum points should be `maintained in register. In laddi-tion, directionsto the dressmaker are printed in the middle of the pattern, consisting either of verbal instructions or further lines indicating cutting, `folding or stitching," to make darts, gores, or other localised changes in-shape. Another type is also usually of semiatransparent white paper, but-has` no design printed thereon, the paper itself being actually cut into the various shapes necessary for making bodice's, sleeves, collars,'i etc. Darts, notches, gores, or other localisedv changes in shape, are indicated by small holes inthe paper, through which rtacking threads must be laboriously hand-sewn, or by Hmarking with -tailors chalk. s.

'With such a pattern of known type, considerable work must be carried out with the, pattern attached to the material somewhat insecurely vbypins and tackingthreads and this insecure attachment-makes it diflicult, especially for those `who have not the professional skill attained through long experience, to cu't out and handle Vtheepor- Itions of the garment neatly and well.

Further, all known patterns require lengthy and complicated printed and diagrammatic Making Instructions, frequently printedron a separate sheet, which are not always easily understood--even by the professionals. With patterns according to the present invention, all cutting lines, -searn'line's, darts, notches','"etc., are marked on the material itself, and are thus in themselves instructions.V

tate great accuracy in cut-ting out, machine-stitching (allV l-ines, etc., being easily -seen and followed, when sewing yand making up) thereby giving the dressmaker, even the beginner, the professional touch.

According to Ithe invention, a pattern for the manufacture of a portion of a textile garment comprises a sheet of flexible material bearing markings serving to indicate how the portion is to be cut or sewn, said mark- 3,095,649 Patented July 2, 1963 2 ings being printed thereon in at least one transferable colour.

The sheet of flexible material may be paper, or it may be polyftheneor other inexpensive, strong, flexible and durable material capable Vof receiving transferred printed Y impressions.

markings, e.g., lines and/or indicia may be on the obverse' of the pattern .or they may be on its reverse.

In addition to the lines and/or indici-a there may be areas of adhesive arranged to secure the pattern Ito the textile material during use of the pattern, but in such a way that it may be detached from the material after use without damage thereto. The adhesive is conveniently on the same side as the :additional lines Iand/lor indicia `and conveniently also, is transferable in the same man-v ner (e.g., by heat or moisture) as lare the transferable colours.

The invention also includes la method of making .a portion of a textile garment which comprises lapplyingto the material a pattern having printed thereon lines :and/or indicia in transferable colours, transferring the colours:

to the material by heat or by moisture, separating the material from the pattern, and then cutting out-the portion. In such a method, the pattern is preferably applied t0 the material by adhesive softened by heat jand moisture. One embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the reverse side of -a pattern according to the inventtion, and

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary cross-'section of the pattern, on a greatly enlarged scale, on the line II-II, FIGURE l.

Referring to the'drawings, a pattern for a single portion of a garment consists of a sheet of semi-transparent paper 10 having its obverse plain and free from any markings.`

The reverse side, which is illustrated in FIGURE l, has printed thereon in a suitable blueink the cutting line 11,` the seam line 12, the datum markings 13,Y andl all other, arrows 14, stitching lines 15 and other markings such as darts 16, folding lines 17 and directions 18 required by the user, all such printing being within the area enclosed by the cutting line 11. The legends appearing in EIG- URE l are shown in reverse, since this is how they are printed, but they will, of course,.whenV read through the semi-transparent paper 10, appear'the right way round. Other wording or markings (not shown) may be in cluded outside the cutting line 11 if desired, but itv will be appreciated that these will be cut away and discarded and therefore will not be available if the pattern is going to be used a second time.

The printing of the above recited markings is, in the embodiment illustrated, elected in a single primary colour, namely, blue. An example of 1a suitable heattransferable ink is as follows:

Oz. Resin 24 Beeswax Shredded soap Litho blue Gutta-percha Coal tar Blue powder White zinc Turpentine It will be understood that the composition of the ink may be varied as required, both as regards its colour and its suitability for transfer from a substance other than paper (e.g., polythene) to any particular fabric (silk, cotton, wool, rayon, nylon etc.). The ink must, when warmed to the temperature appropriate to the material, become viscous and will attach itself to the surface of the material to be cut.

In addition, on the reverse there may, if desired, be areas to which are applied patches 19 of a heat-sensitive adhesive material.

In use, the pattern is laid on the material (not shown), reverse side downwards, and a warm iron is run over the obverse surface. This softens the adhesive 19 if this is employed and causes the pattern 10 to adhere to the material and also softens the colours and causes the lines such as 11, 12, and indicia 13, 14, 17, to be transferred to the material. The pattern 10 and the textile material are then capable of being easily handled as one, and the cutting out can be performed at this stage if desired. The adhesive areas 19 ensure that the pattern and material are held together sufliciently to enable their being easily handled, and this may be of especial importance when very large areas of material are being handled.

The pattern 10 is then peeled away from the material leaving coloured lines and/ or indicia on the material visible to the eye by reason of their constrasting with the colour of the material and being superimposed on it (even when the colour of the material and transfer ink are the same). If cutting out has not already been done, it may be effected now. In many instances it will be sufficient merely if the datum points 13 are transferred, although it will be appreciated that any markings may be transferred as desired. The material is then folded, stitched at the seam line, and any other dressmaking operations are carried out thereon. When the garment has been assembled, the adhesive and colours are removed by brushing, or they may be removed by washing or dry cleaning.

If a soluble medium is used for the colours and the adhesive, the pattern must be spread out and then laid with the transferable side downwards on a damp cloth, peeled away after a few seconds and laid downwards on the textile material, or the pattern may be dipped momentarily in water, or the textile material may be dampened. The advantage of a moisture-sensitive medium is that, whereas water is readily available, a heated iron may sometimes be inconvenient or may be damaging to certain types of fabric.

The use of a material such as polythene for the pattern may be convenient in that the polythene presents a nonabsorbent surface to the adhesive and transferable colours. Further, the polythene is relatively durable and the pattern may be used more than once. Thus, where right and left-handed portions are to be made, indicia could be printed on the obverse in water-sensitive medium and on the reverse in heat-sensitive medium. The indicia on the reverse could thus be transferred by the use of the iron, and one portion of the garment cut out; the transfer could then be used a second time after being damped to transfer the indicia on the obverse to another piece of material to form the other handed portion of the garment.

If such patterns were made right and left-handed, one side of each being printed with heat-soluble transferable colours, and the other being printed with water-soluble colours, the patterns could be used twice, for the making of two garments in succession. This is advantageous, as a user who has used a pattern successfully tends to Wish to use it again.

It may also be advantageous to print each pattern piece on a sheet with sucient space outside the cutting line to include cutting and sewing instructions, together with diagrams showing the method of assembling the portion. When the pattern itself has been cut out, the marginal portion may be retained.

I claim:

1. A pattern for the manufacture of textile garments from a textile comprising a sheet of flexible material, and pattern marking lines and indicia printed in transferable color thereon, each of said lines and indicia being formed of a plurality of transferable colors, at least one of which colors will contrast sufficiently with the color of the textile.

2. A pattern according to claim 1 and further comprising a plurality of areas of adhesive arranged to secure the pattern to the textile material during use of the pattern, said adhesive being of the type enabling removal of the pattern from the textile without damage to the pattern.

3. A pattern according to claim l wherein the plurality of transferable colors comprises all three of the primary colors.

4. A pattern according to claim 1 wherein all of the transferable colors are heat transferable.

5. A pattern according to claim 1 wherein all of the colors are water soluble and transferable by damping of the pattern.

6. A pattern according to claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of transferable colors comprise both a heat transferable color and avwater soluble color to enable re-use of the pattern.

7. A pattern according to claim 6 wherein the flexible material is polyethylene.

8. -A pattern according to claim 7 and further comprising a plurality of areas of adhesive arranged to secure the pattern to the textile during use thereof, said adhesive being of the type enabling detachment of the pattern from the material without damage thereto.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,701,152 Freedman Feb. 5, 1929 1,747,323 Sadtler Feb. 18, 1930 2,411,328 MacNab Nov. 19, 1946 2,657,159 Nahman Oct. 27, 1953 

1. A PATTERN FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF TEXTILE GARMENTS FROM A TEXTILE COMPRISNG A SHEET OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL, AND PATTERN MARKING LINES AND INDICIA PRINTED IN TRANSFERABLE COLOR THEREON, EACH OF SAID LINES AND INDICIA BEING FORMED OF A PLURALITY OF TRANSFERABLE COLORS, AT LEAST ONE OF WHICH COLORS WILL CONTRAST SUFFICIENTLY WITH THE COLOR OF THE TEXTILE. 